


I Saw You Once

by MidnightBeforetheSunrise



Series: Time ticks by, but not in a pace recorded by man. [1]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Actors, Artist Dan Howell, M/M, Phanfiction, Psychic Abilities, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-06
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-10-28 14:48:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10833477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightBeforetheSunrise/pseuds/MidnightBeforetheSunrise
Summary: "I didn’t want to go.But they said America is full of opportunities. "OrWhere Dan’s a rising actor who wanted to be an artist and Phil’s a carefree psychic who loves to pop up in Dan’s life and Dan comments on how they’ve come to be, together.





	1. I saw you once, we crossed.

**Author's Note:**

> They say life has many crossroads. You guided me down the right path, or so I hope. 
> 
> My first work for Phanfiction  
> Hope you enjoy!

_I didn’t want to go._

 

Dan procrastinated, all the time. It started with homework, then projects done the night before, and then basically everything in his life.

So here he was, packing his paints and brushes an hour before his flight into the still empty suitcase.

Ten minutes later, he exited the door with his tussled bed hair and his overstuffed suitcase attempting to convince himself that the wrinkles in his black shirt were part of the aesthetic.

Five minutes later and the taxi arrived to take him away.

He sighed at the window, at London’s raining skies.

He wished more than anything to paint the reflections of each puddle forever.

But he knew it wouldn’t sell.

 

_But they said America is full of opportunities._

“Whatever you wish to do Daniel, whatever it is, you can do it there, I promise.” was what the short and stout drama teacher had said.

_But London’s cloud covered sky and double decker buses,_

“Dan, I’m so excited for you to come! We definitely have to go to….” Tyler yapped excitedly over the phone.

_But London’s coloured Ferris wheel that artificially lit the night sky,_

“Oh that’s wonderful! The producer said that you’ve made the audition! Aren’t you excited to be in a movie with me?” Mark chuckled with his wide smile and warm, welcoming eyes.

_I wanted to stay. No, I need to stay._

He trudged through the front door of the airport, seeing the sickening crowds around him.

It was a miracle no one recognized him.

Dan dug through his backpack, trying to find the passport while walking briskly, his suitcase behind him.

 

_And then, I collided with you._

“Oh I’m terribly sorry!” a thick Northern accent exclaimed.

His backpack had fallen to the ground, the contents spilled like a waterfall.

Scattered like a mismatched puzzle.

_Black hair, blue eyes, pale face. A beauty._

“Oh no, don’t worry about it. I wasn’t looking.”  
They scrambled on the ground, stuffing the wallet, the pens, the sunglasses, the books, back into Dan’s bag.

“Oh wow….”

The stranger held onto a small sheet of printing paper.

_And you said-_

“Did you draw this? It’s beautiful!”

“I – uh, Yeah I drew it. It’s not good at all”

“But it is! The reflections, the shading, it’s London through and through!”

_And I wondered if I had waited so long for someone to see what I saw._

“You don’t want to leave right? You shouldn’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

Dan looked at the stranger, surprised.

“But I never said a word about that…”

“You don’t have to, I can see your heartbreak in gray puddles, the murky background. Why go when this is your home?”

_You saw, you knew, this was my home._

“I… I suppose it is.”

_And London still had so many colours lying untouched on my palette._

“Well I’ve got to dash! It was nice to meet you, Daniel.”

_I saw you once_

Dan’s head jerked upwards at his name.

“Wait how do you know my name?”

_We crossed_

His question was sustained in the air, its target had blended into the crowd.

_But then you vanished_

 

 


	2. In the lights of the traffic and cars, I swear I saw wings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm such a disappointment.  
> But you stopped me from falling down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angsty chapter warning with implication to suicide. Please don't read if it will trigger you in any way.  
> It's 4 am, I'm exhausted with only Sleeping At Last to keep me up (Haha how ironic). Sorry I never intended for the story to get slightly dark like this...

It had been two months after he rejected the American dream.

Of course everyone had been disappointed, all for different reasons of course.

“These don’t come by everyday Daniel!” His PA had yelled, furious, “Are you even serious about being an actor? You don’t know how difficult it is to deal with you!”

_I’m always a disappointment._

“What? Why not?! Mark and I had like a whole schedule of where to take you for dinner, it took such a long time to make a decision…”

The energetic Irishman was exasperated.

“What Sean means is that we’re going to miss you, but take your time to figure things out.”

Mark said it in such a calm tone but his face was quite different.

_I ruin everyone’s plans._

It’s 11 pm now and he’s on the platform waiting for the train to take him home, staring down at the tracks with the fallen trash.

_Just like me._

He can’t think straight, his mind hazy from the caffeine that was supposed to make him awake. But now it’s doing quite the opposite.

_I can’t even be normal._

He wanted more than anything to not go home, to get away from the silence of the night, where everything was so lonely. The voices consumed him, telling him he was wrong to stay, that being an artist anywhere would always be out of reach.

_God, I’m so tired._

“Hey!”

_We passed._

A pale hand grabbed his black sleeved arm. He whips around to see the same pale blue eyes as the ones at the airport.

“Are you my guardian angel?”

The caffeine haze still clouds his mind.

“No, I’m Phil” comes the deadpan response.

“Oh…”

“What were you trying to do, Daniel?”

And Dan looks down to see his feet past the yellow warning line, centimeters away from the edge of the platform.

“I don’t know” He replies honestly, stepping away from the edge back to safety.

_You stopped me from falling down._

“You are not in the state to go home by yourself right now.”

And Phil drags him away, up the stairs.

They pass the dirty floors of the subway and the one busker playing his soft guitar.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Somewhere to stay for tonight.”

“Can’t I stay with you? I…”

_I don’t want to be alone tonight._

“Alright, I’ll keep you company.”

“Did I say that out loud?”

But Phil didn’t answer besides a mysterious wisp of a smile.

_In the lights of the traffic and cars,_

“Are you sure you’re not my guardian angel?”

_I swear I saw wings._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you still managed to enjoy it, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.  
> Sorry for the short chapter, I'm gonna go sleep now.

**Author's Note:**

> *Irresponsibly starts a new work while already writing one a few weeks before exams*  
> Any feedback will be appreciated !  
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
